The '$' is dollars so I'm sure they meant 4 billion USD.
The bigger question is if Parlacen President Julio González Gamarra and H.D. Fernando Ricardo Luna Waldheim from the department of engineering of Central American Parliament are also 'able' to divert $4 billion from some budget to contribute to Dr. Rivera's project at the spur of the moment without ever seeing a pilot scale operation run successfully. They may not be 'able' even if they may be 'willing' to contribute funds like that. If they're that capricious and were 'able' to spend that kind of money at the drop of a hat then I'm guessing they would already have spent $4 billion on a happy meal at some point and probably would have run out of money a while ago.
It's all talk. It would be interesting to hear how that actual conversation went. I'm guessing hearing the conversation first hand wouldn't leave anyone with the impression that someone is reaching for their checkbook.